They went to Capernaum; and when the Sabbath came, he entered the
synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching for he taught as one
having authority.
“They were astounded.” When was the last time you
were astounded by the words of another? Perhaps it was when a child spoke deep
truth to you, without even knowing, or a time that someone you had been
teaching gave you something deep to think about.
Astounded is such a strong word, and not one that we
throw around lightly these days. There are certainly words that have lost their
meanings for us, words that have become so commonplace that their impact is
never felt. But astounded is not one of these words.
They were astounded by Christ’s authority. This is
also a bit strange. It implies that they recognized that he had authority,
instead of merely being astounded by his confidence or arrogance.
Who has authority in your life? Whose voice do you
listen to, trust, and obey?
There are a lot of voices that we give authority to
in different parts of our lives: our parents, teachers, bosses, valued friends,
and so on. And there are voices that we give authority to, but don’t even know:
politicians, media personalities, and news anchors. The power that we give
these people when we assign them authority makes it all the more difficult when
we have to admit that they are human, fallible, and sometimes quite
manipulative of the power they have.
What authority do we give then to the Word of God in
our lives? Do we hold back, worried that this word, like all the human words,
may be only out to deceive us, or are we able to give our whole trust to this
one who teaches with astounding authority?
What does it mean to trust Christ’s teaching? What
does it mean to trust the Word of God?
It may mean different things for different people,
but at the heart is God’s promise that, as children of God, we are loved, we
are held as valuable members of the kingdom and that we will never be
abandoned.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
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